Digital Record Keeping & Portfolio Building - Rubrics

Takeaway: Using the iPad & GoodReader can easily digitize a teacher's assessment process as well as give parents quick & easy access to the results.


As teachers we are always creating rubrics. Rubrics for assignments, rubrics for projects, rubrics for units. With upwards of 30 students in a class keeping the weight of the rubric paper to a minimum is key. In addition, how do you ensure the parents are seeing the results and staying informed & connected to their child's learning?



For digital record keeping & portfolio building with rubrics utilize what I feel is one of the moset useful apps for teachers, GoodReader....

Create a rubric in Word, save it as a PDF to Dropbox (or any cloud storage), open it in GoodReader, fill it out and save it digitally and email it to parents instantly...


Start with any pre-existing rubric created in Word:

Do a "Save As" and turn it in to a PDF:

Save it in a Dropbox folder for easy access:

Open your Dropbox folder from the GoodReader app on your iPad:

Download the blank rubric PDFs:

Once in your GoodReader folder (any folder of your choosing - in this case I created a "Rubric" folder) you can tap on a file to begin annotating:

When first attempting to annotate, GoodReader will give you the option to annotate the original or create a duplicate, keeping the original clean (I recommend "creating an annotated copy" so your original file stays clear for use with additional students):

Use the "free-hand" tool write on the file just as you would a traditional paper version:

Change colors as needed & complete the assessment:

You can email the completed assessment to a parent/guardian directly from the app so they can have an immediate update on the students progress:

Within the main window of the app you can change the filename to reflect the individual student's name:

You can also create individual folders to keep files organized & create true digital portfolios:

A quick view of my Rubrics folder with 2 student portfolio folders. Notice the "1" next to Billy, that indicates there is 1 file in that portfolio:

Once you are finished with an assessment you can keep the files in GoodReader, email them to parents, or upload them back to Dropbox for archival purposes (uploading to also allows for printing the annotated files and sharing them with colleagues via a shared folder).


The majority of teachers create rubrics in a word processing program and them print them out for use. As long as you are creating them digitally why not complete & file them digitally too? Yes, you will still need to print out a copy for the student to use during the project and assessment period (unless of course you are lucky enough to be in a 1:1 tablet or laptop environment, and if you are share the assessment digitally and eliminate paper altogether...).

Minimizing paper use with digital assessments & portfolios is an easy way to save precious class floor space (minimize file cabinets) and funds, as well as keep all stake-holders (students, parents, colleagues & administration) more instantly informed of a student's progress.

For a more detailed tutorial check out the Tutorial page on the PS10iPads website...